


3 Rules

by dragon_scars



Category: YouTube Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Angst, FWB, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Unrequited, hookup, this is really depressing i cannot write anything positive ever i swear to god
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9920096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragon_scars/pseuds/dragon_scars
Summary: #1 was the easiest. It didn't mean anything. They weren't together. He didn't expect Ethan to be exclusive to him, and he couldn't expect Tyler to be. Ethan almost looked hurt when Tyler had said it, but any sign of sadness was gone as quickly as it came. He nodded and asked Tyler what the second was.#2 took a minute for Tyler to think of. "You can't get upset if someone gets in a relationship." he said. There was an unsaid "obviously. we aren't even together." in the air. It was implied.#3 bit like a knife, it hurt the most out of all of them, for some strange reason. "Nobody can know. I don't want people finding out and thinking I'm... you can't tell anybody."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably a oneshot, idk if I want it to end that brutally or not. comment what you think i should doooo.

If there was one thing Tyler wished he could take back, one single moment he could change in his entire life, it would be the night he ended it with Ethan. 

He walked through the park, hood pulled up, trying to ignore how drenched he was from the rain as he thought about it, about the last few months.

Feelings were never supposed to be part of it, that was rule #1. #1 of 3. They weren't exclusive. Nowhere near it. To be exclusive required a relationship. and Tyler and Ethan were not in a relationship. They were just friends, pure and simple. What they did when they had a little too much to drink had nothing to do with it.

At first, the rule seemed unneccesary, it was a precaution at best. It wasn't like Tyler would ever actually get feelings for Ethan, and there was no way Ethan liked him. The way he looked at Tyler didn't mean anything. To assume there was anything more than friendship between the two would be insane.

The first time it happened, it was almost an accident. Mark had just left with Amy, as he was far too drunk to drive himself home, and Ethan and Tyler sat at the bar, continuing to joke. Ethan said something about not wanting to puke on his bedroom floor when he finally stumbled home, and Tyler said the answer was obvious, they just needed a hotel room.

Ethan kissed Tyler first, something about the way he looked under the yellow light outside of the motel room was just too beautiful. As soon as Tyler came back with the key, and logic went out the window. He was pulling Tyler to him, standing on his tiptoes to close the height difference. The motel room door was flung open, slammed shut just as quickly as Tyler pressed him against the door, kissing him without hesitation. 

That night was a blur of lips against lips, skin on skin, the sweetest moans he'd ever heard. 

The next morning, though, he remembered waking up with his arms around someone else, his head nuzzled in the crook of their neck. He smiled into the warm skin, too tired to think about what he was doing. "Morning" Ethan said. 

He remembered falling out of bed, the cheap carpet scratching his back. He remembered the way Ethan sat up, looking over at him. His eyes were so wide. 

"Did I do something wrong?" Ethan asked quietly. He didn't know how to reply. 

It as a regular occurance after that, looks when Mark's back was turned, kisses when the lights were off. 

"We need rules."  
It was the third time this had happened, the third morning Tyler had woken up in the same bed as Ethan, the third motel. The overall shock of it had worn off by now. when he went out drinking, the morning after was as expected as the hangover was.

#1 was the easiest. It didn't mean anything. They weren't together. He didn't expect Ethan to be exclusive to him, and he couldn't expect Tyler to be. Ethan almost looked hurt when Tyler had said it, but any sign of sadness was gone as quickly as it came. He nodded and asked Tyler what the second was. 

#2 took a minute for Tyler to think of. "You can't get upset if someone gets in a relationship." he said. There was an unsaid "obviously, we aren't even together." in the air. It was implied.

#3 bit like a knife, it hurt the most out of all of them, for some strange reason. "Nobody can know. I don't want people finding out and thinking I'm... you can't tell anybody." 

Tyler remembered seeing the pain in Ethan's eyes, in that moment, he couldn't hide it. They both looked away. 

And so it went on, their affair. The secret nobody knew about. Nobody had to know, so why would they? They were good, they were happy, they were just fine being a secret.

And then, one night, it all went to hell. 

It was so stupid, he'd overreacted and he knew it. They were all on the couch, (all being Amy, Mark, Tyler, Ethan, and Kathryn) watching some cheesy movie. Ethan was sprawled out on the couch, his head resting on Tyler's shoulder. It was an innocent enough pose, sure, but Mark was still sending him weird looks every few minutes. It was obvious that Ethan had been drinking that night, he was sleepy and giggly, like he always was hen he'd had a little too much. 

And then, he did it. He did what he'd been wanting to do since the first night, at the bar. No, he'd wanted to do it for so much longer. Ethan looked over at Tyler, sat up as much as he could while still leaning on his shoulder, and kissed him.

Mark was the only one in the group who'd seen it, but it didn't matter. Amy and Kathryn knew something had happened when Tyler jumped up, knocking Ethan onto the floor. He stood up as quickly as he could, eyes wide. 

"Tyler, I-I..." he stuttered, swallowing quickly. He couldn't think of what he could even say. 

"Don't be weird, Ethan. we're friends, just friends. You know that. I'm not gay." He spat out the last word like it was acid. 

He could hear Ethan collapse as he tugged his shoes and coat on, hear Amy and Kathryn try to comfort him. Mark was yelling at Tyler, running out after him. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he shouted, chasing Tyler while he walked away. 

"What's wrong with me? what about Ethan? What's wrong with Ethan?" He snorted. 

"Are you fucking blind? Don't you see the way he fucking looks at you? Did you honestly not fucking know?" Mark yelled, grabbing Tyler's shoulder.

"Know fucking what, Mark?" he asked.

"He loves you, dipshit. Are you that blind?"

It felt like the ground got pulled out from underneath him. No, it felt like the earth just disappeared. 

His rules flashed through his mind. The pain in Ethan's eyes.

"did I do something wrong?"

He'd sounded so innocent when he asked that, so vulnurable. And all the sudden, he knew why.

He'd made his way back to the apartment as fast as he could, but it as too late, and he knew it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am aware I promised this a while ago, I was 3/4 done with it and then decided to completely start. Anyway. angst.

He didn't mean it. He didnt mean it. No matter how many times Ethan repeated it to himself, he couldn't force himself to believe it. He heard the venom in Tyler's voice firsthand. There was no mistaking it- he hated Ethan, he was sure of it. 

After that night, he packed a suitcase and moved into a hotel. He couldn't handle the thought of sleeping under the same roof as Tyler, but he hated the idea of staying with Mark and Amy, too. Knowing they had watched his heart break. He didn't know what Mark had told Tyler after he ran out. He didn't want to know. He wanted to pretend Tyler didn't exist. He wanted to die in a hole, to never show his face again. Maybe fake his death, change his name, and move to Spain. e wasn't entirely sure what his plan was, so for now he was living in a motel that smelled of cigarette smoke adn bleach. He didn't mind it. 

He didn't want to admit that he'd been going out drinking almost nightly, but he had. His ultimate low was the 5th night in a row, when e was too drunk to see straight, and then he was waking up naked in a king sized bed in some classy hotel, no idea how he'd gotten there, a stranger's arm wrapped around his bare torso. The room smelled like sweat, sex, and booze. 

He thought it was Tyler next to him in his morning haze, nearly puking when he remembered what happened between the two. "Morning" the guy holding him said, his voice hoarse and gravelly. Ethan rolled over to look at him, yelping in surprise. "You alright?" he asked Ethan worriedly.

"you're.... you're... FUCK. Mark's gonna kill me." He swore, eyes wide. 

"Relax, Ethan. I'm not married to Mark, no need to be Cranky" sean chuckled at his own joke. "Me and him hooked up a few times before he was with Amy. There's no hard feelin's anymore." he assured him, brushing a piece of blue hair out of Ethan's eyes. He nodded, not feeling any less guilty. 

"I'm gonna shower quick, wanna join me?" Sean asked with a wink. 

Against his better judgement, he followed him out of bed.

\---

Sean and Ethan were an entirely different breed than he and Tyler had been. He didn't run away when he woke up next to Ethan, instead he kissed his forhead and ordered pancakes from room service. He moved out of the Sleep Inn motel, considering he spent maybe one night week there, and just stayed with Sean instead. 

Amy was the first one to notice. Ethan had been streaming some DLC that he'd been having trouble beating when she saw the familiar mop of green hair in the corner of the screen for a moment. 

"hmm? Oh, yeah, one sec." Ethan replied to something she hadn't caught. He smiled at the camera, "gotta go guys, I'll get back to posting videos pretty soon, promise!" He waved, then ended the stream. 

"Uh.... Mark?" she called hesitantly. "yeah?" he asked, wandering back into the room. "I think Ethan is with... Jack."

 

Tyler wished he hadn't been in the kitchen when she told Mark. He wished he hadn't overheard her. 

He shouldn't be upset, after all, he was straight. But the idea of Jack touching Ethan the way he used to made him feel sick. He couldn't help but imagine the two together. It wasn't hard to do, the image of Ethan's beautiful body had burned itsself into his mind. God, he was fucking beautiful. 

But Tyler wasn't gay.

\---

Ethan and Sean didn't drink before hooking up anymore. They felt more domestic than Ethan had ever dreamed, Some nights they would fuck until he couldn't think and all he wanted was more of Sean. Other nights they cuddled and watched romcoms on netflix. He loved both.

The two were dreading Sean's return to Ireland. They dodged the subject as long as they could, but Sean was running out of pre-recorded videos and the fans were getting tired of "reading your comments" and vlogs. It was two weeks after their first encounter, and sean was recording yet another episode of reading his fans' comments, when one question stopped him in his tracks. 

"Who's the girl that's been staying with you lately?"

The idea of being outed made him freeze.

"babe? you okay?" Ethan asked, walking back into the room with a bucket of ice in hand. 

"This won't work out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL BITCH YOU THOUGHT.
> 
> jk this is super short because I decided to chop my pre-written chapter 2 in half to be a bitch. I'm almost done with 3 already. I'm so mean to you guys.
> 
> Also, to clarify, I switch back and forth between Sean and Jack intentionally. I use Sean for Ethan because Ethan knows Sean better, but Amy and Tyler don't, so it feels like they'd be used to calling him Jack.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this is so melodramatic but ironically enough, Those 3 rules are legit, those are the 3 rules my crush gave me when we decided to be FWBs. It's definitely as rough to hear as it seems, trust me.
> 
> ANYWAY, RHIA'S BACK BITCHES! I missed fanfic.


End file.
